I don't think it matters at the rec level. Do you think it matters at your 3.5, 4.0 level? Personally?

Click to expand...

Personally, I cannot learn the 2 hander any more. I tried a few times, and gave up. But I am different in that I have improved by 1 hander tremendously. Just this Tuesday, a guy in the club said how superb my technique is. I have achieved this by not cheating to the backhand side, and even taking forehand balls on the backhand. I also regularly calibrate myself against women playing the 2 hander. Even a 4.0 woman has a short-swing nasty cross-court BH abrupt shot, which is different from the long-swing, loopy shots of the 1 hander males. I make sure I can deal with those. The only balls which still get me now are the high bouncing ones coming straight into the body when I am not ready. I now get most of them back by stepping back and looping, or playing the slice, but once in a while I do get caught napping.

Personally, I cannot learn the 2 hander any more. I tried a few times, and gave up. But I am different in that I have improved by 1 hander tremendously. Just this Tuesday, a guy in the club said how superb my technique is. I have achieved this by not cheating to the backhand side, and even taking forehand balls on the backhand. I also regularly calibrate myself against women playing the 2 hander. Even a 4.0 woman has a short-swing nasty cross-court BH abrupt shot, which is different from the long-swing, loopy shots of the 1 hander males. I make sure I can deal with those. The only balls which still get me now are the high bouncing ones coming straight into the body when I am not ready. I now get most of them back by stepping back and looping, or playing the slice, but once in a while I do get caught napping.

Click to expand...

Most guys can hit 1hbh at the rec level fine. Even with flaws. We don't see serious pace or spin.

We ALL get caught napping.
That's where the reflex volley off a body shot comes in.
Just reflex volley that shot, while you're defending behing the baseline, short and angled, just like the reflex volley off a body shot.

We ALL get caught napping.
That's where the reflex volley off a body shot comes in.
Just reflex volley that shot, while you're defending behing the baseline, short and angled, just like the reflex volley off a body shot.

Click to expand...

You mean a half-volley, right? That is what I meant when I said I slice across my body on those shots (if I don't move back).

Sure, an opponent hits one right at you (or me), as usual I'm not paying attention, so the defacto reply is a short volley stroke of the bounce (since I"m napping behind my baseline), low and angled to whichever side my timing permits.
It's better than a lob, as know you force the big hitting baseliner to move forwards AND near his own sideline, and you (or me), now we're going to lob to where he came from.

Sure, an opponent hits one right at you (or me), as usual I'm not paying attention, so the defacto reply is a short volley stroke of the bounce (since I"m napping behind my baseline), low and angled to whichever side my timing permits.
It's better than a lob, as know you force the big hitting baseliner to move forwards AND near his own sideline, and you (or me), now we're going to lob to where he came from.

Well, in my defense, I gotta check out all the hotties walking or jogging by, so why would I miss any just to look at a yellow tennis ball?
Move my feet? Are u kidding? I can't even jog.
But the hitting turret, above the waist, almost still works, even though the movement related body parts havegone deep south.

That is because of his talent. Others cannot play like him with that style.

Click to expand...

I beg to differ. I often play against a guy who's about McEnroe's age and plays EXACTLY like McEnroe. He hits everything on the rise with a continental grip and uses his opponent's power against them. His placement and accuracy are incredible. He can hit the ball within an inch of the baseline 100 times without ever hitting it out, and he can place the ball just a hair out of your reach every time you attack the net. He uses precision placement rather than pace and spin to beat you and it's so hard to get the ball past him. He also serves and has volleys just like McEnroe, with incredible hands.

He was a 5.0 but is now more of a 4.5 now that he's older. He has great hands and is great at manipulating the angle of his racquet head. If you hit a hard shot at him, he will just take your ball right off the bounce and without hardly swinging much, angle the ball right past you with incredible placement. The only way I can describe it is it's just like playing against a right-handed McEnroe!

Thanks....
Usually, you have more touch and feel rec players than touch and feel pro players. In order to ascend to ATP level, you gotta beat all those guys who message the ball, and the easiest way to do it is to crush the ball into corner's repeatedly, until the opponent basically doesn't try quite as hard any more.
Rec players, more use touch and feel, because lots of us non pros don't have the innate ability to really crush the ball.
Guys like McEnroe, and Gilbert, Mecir, drive opponent's crazy by NOT using power, NOT going for huge winners, showing a face of tennis their opponent's choose to ignore. And being able to absorb and redirect ATP level balls, that just drives the big hitter's nuts...unless they're named DelPo, Nadal, or Fed/DJ/Murray.

Touch and feel is extremely difficult to execute when the ball is coming with good amount of topspin.

Rec players don't have better touch and feel, pros do. If you mean for slow shots, pros drop shot much better. But it is a misconception that you don't need touch and feel for other shots. Topspin shots require touch and feel of their own. A DTL one handed BH feels like heaven. All shots require touch and feel.

McEnroe's groundstrokes are very compact and simple. Because of that, they probably demand less innate ability than modern strokes.

I'm more impressed by Federer being able to hit on-the-rise than McEnroe, especially on the forehand side.

McEnroe, Seles, and Agassi could do it easily, mostly because of their stroke mechanics. I should also mention Date-Krumm, because her strokes were the opposite of "natural", yet they are highly effective.

McEnroe's groundstrokes are very compact and simple. Because of that, they probably demand less innate ability than modern strokes.

I'm more impressed by Federer being able to hit on-the-rise than McEnroe, especially on the forehand side.

McEnroe, Seles, and Agassi could do it easily, mostly because of their stroke mechanics. I should also mention Date-Krumm, because her strokes were the opposite of "natural", yet they are highly effective.

Click to expand...

I'm not so sure about that. It takes incredible timing and great hands to play like McEnroe. If it were so easy, everyone would have been doing it back then but McEnroe was the only one I can think of who could hit groundstrokes with a limp wrist and almost no takeback and be very effective. Today, it seems everyone can hit with modern strokes.

I'm not so sure about that. It takes incredible timing and great hands to play like McEnroe. If it were so easy, everyone would have been doing it back then but McEnroe was the only one I can think of who could hit groundstrokes with a limp wrist and almost no takeback and be very effective. Today, it seems everyone can hit with modern strokes.

Click to expand...

I agree. If anyone made the game look easy, it was McEnroe.
Federer's strokes are far more complicated, and more the result of intensive training than the strokes of McEnroe.
Tennis is way more professionalised since the eighties. McEnroe considered playing doubles as his main practice and hated to hit the same shot more than tow times in a row.
He hung in clubs and bars until hours after midnight during tournaments.(though i don't think before the real big matches). I have to say I don't think he the same results with the that lifestyle if he happened to be a pro player today.

one-handed backhand while falling? never heard of that... it just wouldn't work. If it bothers you that much switch to the two-hander! Or you could just master both (tsonga) (me). I've practiced the one-hander lately and I can confidently say that it's a solid stroke in my arsenal. Then again I do have an eastern one-handed backhand... so it might be easier for me to hit high balls... SERIOUSLY WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL WITH THE ONE HANDER. I KNOW IT LOOKS PRETTY AND DEALS OUT MASSIVE DAMAGE BUT WHY DO PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT SO OFTEN!!!!

one-handed backhand while falling? never heard of that... it just wouldn't work. If it bothers you that much switch to the two-hander! Or you could just master both (tsonga) (me). I've practiced the one-hander lately and I can confidently say that it's a solid stroke in my arsenal. Then again I do have an eastern one-handed backhand... so it might be easier for me to hit high balls... SERIOUSLY WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL WITH THE ONE HANDER. I KNOW IT LOOKS PRETTY AND DEALS OUT MASSIVE DAMAGE BUT WHY DO PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT SO OFTEN!!!!